The following is an overview for creating and setting up a Flute account. After these steps are completed and confirmed, the account may be used and development started.
Get started with the following steps:
- Creating a Flute sandbox account
- Creating an API key
- Generating an API token
- Developing in the sandbox environment
- Going live
Before using Flute payment capabilities or the Flute API suite, you must create a sandbox account.
All development and testing occurs first in a sandbox account. The sandbox account is a fully isolated account that mirrors production behavior. All transactions, statuses, and API endpoints may be made in the sandbox. However, it does not process real transactions. It is used to validate your integration, applications, and workflows before going live.
The account is free and does not require approval. It can be created and self managed.
To create the Flute sandbox account:
- Go to the Flute dashboard page.
- Enter your email. This is an address your account verification will be sent to.
- Enter your company name.
- Select the Partner account type.
- Select Submit. Flute sends an email account verification message.
- Open that email and select Confirm your account. There may be additional requests for information. Complete those as needed.
After creating a sandbox account, you will be in the sandbox dashboard. A reminder appears at the top of the screen. This dashboard allows you to manage, status, and run test transactions.
You will need to create a merchant sandbox API key. API keys created in the sandbox are only for sandbox testing. New keys will need to be created when you move to the production environment.
To create a sandbox API key:
- Select Merchants in the left navigation panel.
- Select a specific merchant in the center display panel. That merchant information displays.
- Select API Keys in the right options panel.
- Create the API key following the screen instructions.
To make any endpoint calls with the Flute API, an API token is required. This is a temporary authentication token based on an API key. This includes the sandbox API key that was created.
To create an API token, see Generating an API Token
The sandbox is to be used for all testing and development. It may continued to be used after going live, for additional development.
When your product is ready to be deployed live, the Flute support team will work with you to ensure compliance. This compliance follows the production readiness checklist. It ensures the best and optimal developer, client, and customer experience.
For more information and details about the production readiness checklist, see Production Go-Live Guide.